Rum Review – Pyrat Rum
Posted by Jon on October 27th, 2011Being a pirate, I have a pretty deep commitment to rum. Being a gentleman buccaneer, I strive to surround myself with culturally significant rums, and rums that go beyond the standard “Cap’n and Coke” variety. In my travels, I’ve had the chance to taste and acquire a variety of delicious rums, some better than others. In the spirit of sharing, I’ve decided to pass on some words of wisdom about the rhums of my life.
I’ll start with a rum that I had high expectations for – Pyrat rum. From the makers of the fabled Patron tequila, I had high hopes for Pyrat. Hell – it’s pronounced “Pirate” and it comes in a numbered bottle.
The original presentation was nice – it had a ribbon wrapped around it, and came with this little metal dog-tag with “Hoti – the Zen patron saint of fortune tellers and bartenders”. A quick Googling of “Hoti” leads me to a lot of literature on Patron tequila, but very little real dogmatic evidence that there are Zen patron saints to begin with, let alone that Hoti is one of them. I dislike religious imagery used as marketing fluff, so strike one. Making up religious imagery to try and add mystery to your product? Strike two.
The rum is a nice amber color, and visually is quite appealing. Opening the cork-top kind of threw me for a loop. This rum has a strangely chemical smell – not entirely unpleasant, but not entirely rum-like either. The cork smelled terrible, which is not a good sign. I would assume this was a bad bottle, but other online reviews have matched this sentiment, so I think it’s just fact.
Taste-wise, it’s okay. I can detect some citrus hints, and notes of caramel, but overall nothing stands out. For an “Ultra-premium” rum, this stuff is really better for mixing. In a Rum & Coke, it’s divine, but for sipping it doesn’t hold up to other, nicer rums.
I don’t really know what scale to use to review this, but on a scale of 1 to 10 on whether or not I would give this rum as a gift to a friend, I give this one a 6. Not bad, but there are much better rums out there.
I picked up my bottle at Lee’s Discount Liquors in Las Vegas for $22 and change, but I’m not sure if it’s available in Canada. I’ve never seen it in stores, even at the Mega-LCBO’s, so I don’t know if you can get it north of the border.
Afternote: A quick search of the LCBO website pulls up nothing, so if you want to try this one for yourself you’ll need to go outside of Ontario, or have a gracious friend bring you back some from their travels.
Down with the LCBO!
Nice review Jon. I wish Tim Lee had a similar site.